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FOR THE FIRST TIME ON TV, TOP PROSECUTOR MICHAEL VECCHIONE ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT, AND A PROSECUTOR SEEKS JUSTICE FOR A WOMAN WHO AMOST DIED IN AN ELEVATOR DISASTER – NEXT ON “BROOKLYN DA”

For the first time on TV, top prosecutor Michael Vecchione answers questions about allegations of misconduct, a team of prosecutors struggle with a case against a surgeon and a ring of funeral home body snatchers, and a prosecutor seeks justice for a woman almost killed in a hospital elevator disaster, on the next BROOKLYN DA to be broadcast Saturday, June 29, 2013 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

BROOKLYN DA is a six-part news documentary series focusing on an eclectic group of men and women in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and their lives inside and outside of the courtroom.

Michael Vecchione, chief of the Rackets Division, has handled some of New York’s biggest cases, including bringing three State Supreme Court judges to justice for corruption and convicting two New York City detectives of murder on behalf of the mob. Now, serious allegations of misconduct are forcing him to defend his reputation on the next broadcast of BROOKLYN DA. He’s under intense pressure to answer questions about his role in the investigation into the murder of a rabbi and the subsequent conviction of Jabbar Collins. Collins spent 16 years in jail before his conviction was vacated by a federal judge.

“The accusation is that I hid evidence in order to get a conviction in a murder case,” Vecchione says. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“There are serious allegations facing Michael Vecchione right now,” Pace Law School professor Bennett Gershman tells BROOKLYN DA, adding that the prosecutor is “subject to quite a bit of criticism.”

“Never in my entire life have I crossed the line,” Vecchione says. “Never. And I don’t plan on ever doing it.”

Also on the broadcast, prosecutors Patricia McNeill and Josh Hanshaft go after a surgeon who made millions operating an illegal bone and body tissue harvesting business out of funeral homes. The surgeon sent some tainted tissue and bone to medical companies, which was then used in procedures on more than 1,000 people around the world. “People who have received these bad bones are subject to lasting problems,” Dr. John Healy, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center tells BROOKLYN DA. “This is 24 hours a day that they worry about it.” Adds Hanshaft: “It can absolutely lead to death.” There’s an ironic ending to this story that no one could have anticipated.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Lawrence Oh seeks justice for a woman almost killed and left maimed by a Christmas day elevator disaster at a Brooklyn hospital.

BROOKLYN DA was created by Patti Aronofsky, who is also the senior supervising producer. Lisa Freed, Liza Finley, Jonathan Leach, Susan Mallie, Aimee DeSimone and Kim Kennedy and Elena DiFiore are the producers. Lauren Clark is the field producer. David Franklin, Michael Vele, Kevin Dean and George Baluzy are the producer-editors. Mead Stone is the senior creative producer. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.